David eousseau



(No Model.)

B. ROUSSBAU. ELEGTRIGAL DOOR OPENER.

No. 352,154. Patented Nov. 9, 1886.

W/TIYESSES, X?

r4, Pnzns. Phum-Ulhngnphov. Washington. 0. :2V

' jamb at the bolt-socket or striking-plate, 7

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID ROUSSEAU, on NEW YORK, n. Y.

ELECTRICAL DOOR-OPENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 352,154, dated November 9, 1886.

Application filed December 26, 1885. Serial "No. 186,937. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID ROUSSEAU, a citizen of the United States, residing atNew York city, county and State of New York, 5 have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Electrical Door-Openers, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to that class of devices adapted for the main doors of flats or apartment-houses which are located in the doorto engage the latch-bolt of the door, and which are provided with electromagnetic detent devices connected with push-buttons on the different floors, so organized that by pressing one of the push-buttons the detent devices will be released to allow the door to open.

In most all electrical dooropeners heretofore devised the striking-plate or jamb-plate is provided with a socket gate or catch-block to hold the latch-bolt, which catchblock has a constant tendency to open to release the bolt and throw the door ajar by the action of a strong spring. When the dooris shut, a pro- 2 jection on the door collides with the catchblock and closes the same against the action of its spring at the same time that the latch: bolt falls into 1 engagement with the closed catch-block, while the armature of an electromagnet now engages the catch-block and holds it closed. When, however, this magnet is thrown in circuit, by touching a push-button the armature is attracted and the catch-block released, which now flies open by the action of its spring, and thus releases the latch-bolt and throws the door ajar. This form of dooropener usually requires a special form of lock on the door or special attachments or forma-' tions on the lock, and, as the catch-block is constantly acted on .by a powerful spring, tending constantly to open it, this causes considerable pressure or friction on the magnetic detent, which requires a powerful magnet and strong battery-power torender its releasing action certain. l v 7 Now, my invention aims to provide a simple and efficient electric door-opener which will be embodied in the door-jamb altogether, and require no special formation of, or attachment to, the door lo ck, and in which also a small or weak magnet may be used with .certainty, and, furthermore, which will provide a means of indicating to the tenant or operator at the push-button whether the door has been opened or not. In my improvement, therefore, the catch-block is acted on bya spring which tends constantly to close it, and when so closed it is not engaged directly by the armature of the releasing-magnet, but by ade-' tent-lever which is intermediate between the catch-block and the armature, which detenttant-lever by a bolt or cam, which is collided with and depressed by the edge of the lock The second and The first or lighter spring when the door is closed, thus putting a strong pressure on the detent-lever, tending to release it,which, however, is normally prevented by the engagement of the retracted armature. When, however, the magnet is thrown in circuit, by touching the distant push-bottom the armature is retracted, and thus disengages the detent-lever, which now flies back by the action of its stronger spring and releases the catchblock and allows the door to be opened. This mechanism therefore enables a small weak magnet to act with certainty-in releasing the door opener, notwithstanding the fact that considerable friction may exist at the catchbloek, and this is a prominent advantage of my in vention. In order to indicate to the distant operator at the push-button whether the'door has been opened or not, the sliding'Spring compressing bolt referred to actuates a contactsmaker in circuit with an electric bell or its equivalent, so that the circuit will be closed or opened on the bell according to the position of the bolt, due to the closed or opened position of the door, and a certain indication thus given whether the door has been opened and whether it is still opened or closed.

My invention therefore consists in the features above outlined and in details connected therewith, as hereinafter fully set forth.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a front elevation of my improved door-opener, showing the parts in their normal positions or the positions assumed when the door is open. Fig. 2 is a similar elevation including the electric circuit of the door-opener with the pushbutton and electric bell, and showing the parts in the position assumed when the door is closed, while the dotted lines show the position of parts just at the instant when the circuit is closed to release the dooropener and allow the door to be opened. Fig. 3 is a crosssection or plan of Fig. 1 011 line 00 m, and Fig. 4 is a cross-section of Fig. 2 on line 3 In the drawings, a indicates the janib-plate provided with the small rectangular case I), cast solid therewith andinclosing the mechanism of the door-opener, which is covered by a reniovable plate, a, Fig. 3, at one side, as will be understood. The jambplate, wit-hits case, is mortised into the door-jamb in the usual posi tion coincident with the lock, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. At the front edge of the front plate, in the position corresponding to the usual striking-plate and coincident with the position of the latch-bolt on the door-lock, is arranged the catch-block d, which is preferably a rotary cylindrical block pivoted on a vertical axis, 0, and having one triangular segment cut out to form a locking recess or pocket, in which to receive the inclined tip of the latch-boltf, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

A torsional spring, 9, arranged as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, tends constantly to turn the catch-block so as to close the same with the recess inward in a position to hold the latchbolt, as shown best in Fig. 3, in which position the catch-bolt is stopped by the catchtooth t striking the inside of the case b, as seen in Fig. 3.

Reterring to Figs. 1 and 2, k is an electromagnet, Z its armature, and m is a dctcnt-lever intermediate between the catch-block and said armature. The detent lever m is fulcrumed on a strong pin, m, at the top of the case b, and at a short distance from the fulcrum a stout broad pawl, a, is pivoted on the detent-lever in a position at rightangles to the length of the lever and tangential to the rotary catch-block (Z, and in engaging relation with the catch-tooth t thereon, as well shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4. This pawl is normally thrown out by a spring-tongue, n, against a stop, n in a position to positively engage the tooth I; in the direction in which the catchblock turns to release the latch-bolt; but the pawl will yield in the reverse direction to let the tooth t snap behind the tipof the pawl when the catch-block revolves back after the release of the bolt, as will be understood. lhe detent-lever is itsel facted on by the springtongue 0, which constantly tends to press the lever toward the c'atch-block,so as to hold the pawl a in engagement with the tooth z'and bring the tip of the lever in engagement with a catch-hook, Z, on the armature-lever Z, as seen in Fig. 1,when said armature is in its retracted or normal position, in which retracted position it is held by the light retractingspring k.

Now,referring again to Figs.1 and 3, p indicates a sliding spring-bolt which is fitted to slide transversely through the case b,having a rectangular inclined head which protrudes through thejamb-plate a, and a round shank which passes loosely through an opening in about the middle of the detent-lever m and slides in a socket in the back wall of the case 1). Around the shank of the bolt is placed a spiral spring,q,one end of which bears against the head of the bolt and the other end against the detent-lever m. It will now be seen that the inclined head of the bolt 1) is just below the catch-block d and in aposition to be struck by the edge of the lockj below the latch-boltf when the door is shut, so that it thus becomes depressed or forced into the case when the door is closed, as seen in Fig. 2. When, however, the door is open and the bolt 12 is free to protrude,the part-s assume the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 3, which is the normal position of parts. In this condition of things the spring q is lax and passive, and the spring 0 preponderates and forces the detent-lever against the spring (1, so as to protrude the bolt to its full extent, limited by its stop-pin 1), while the pawl n is brought into engagement with the tooth i and the tip of the detent-lever is in engagement with the armature-hook Z. If the door is now shut, the latch-bolt will ride over the rounded front of the closed catch-block (see Fig. 3) and finally snap into thelockingrecess therein, as seen in Fig. 4,thus holding the door closed, while at the same time the edge of the lockj will collide with the head of the springbolt 1) and force the bolt into the case, thereby compressing the spring q against the detent-lever m, and thus providing a strong pent-up force, which tends constantly to move the lever so as to release the catch-block (Z, which tendency will become effective as soon as the lever is itsellreleased by the armature Z. Such, therefore, will be the condition of parts when the dooris closed and held,as shown by full lines in Figs. 2 and 4. It will therefore now be seen that the compressed spring q is constantly tending to disengage the deten tlever from the armature-hook Z, while the catch-block d, with its hook i, is tending to rotate against and escape from the pawl n,this tendency of the catch-block being due to the inward pressure of the bolt f against the catchblock, due to the usual opening-spring on the door. The catch-block remains, however, locked in its engaging position by the locked position of the detent-lever, as shown by full lines in Fig 2, until the magnet is thrown into circuit, at which point the armature Z will be attracted, thus disengaging the hook Z from the tip of the detent-lever and allowing the compressed spring q to expand, thereby swaying the lever backward and removing the pawl n from the tooth 1 thus leaving the catch-block free, when the bolt f will now press on the IIO IIS

block. by virtue of the opening-spring on the door, or by .the pressure .ofthe visitors hand,

and will turn the block and'escape, thus opening the door. Just after the bolt has escaped from thecatch-block the catch-block willinstantly revolve back to its closed position by the action of its spring 9, and the spring-bolt 19, also being free 'to protrude as the door is opened, the spring will now act to spring the parts back into their normal engaged positions, as in Figs. 1 and 3.

Now, in order that the operator or tenant at the distant push-buttonshallknow whether the door has been opened or not, and whether the visitor has been admitted, the spring-bolt p or other movable part of the door-opener is ing device.

arranged to work a contact-maker in circuit.

with an electric bell or other electric indicat- This contachmaker I show at r in Figs. 1 and 2, being a simple contact-tongue preferably fixed to the base of the magnet k, and insulated therefrom and arranged to seat against a contact-point, s, which projects me tallically from the base of the magnet. An inclined insulating-plate, t, is mounted on the contact-tongue 1', which is collidedwith by the head of the spring-bolt p when the bolt is forced into the case, so as to thereby depress the tongue and close circuit with the contactpoint 8 whenever the door is closed, as will be readily understood from Figs. 1 and 2. Now,

the arrangement of the circuit is as follows, referring-to Fig. 2, the parts of the dooropener being in the position shown by full lines in Fig. 2that is, the circuit passes from the battery u to thetop of the jamb-plate a,

being connected to the jamb-plate at the top screw, and from thence is continued through the metal parts of the door-opener to the point 8, and thence to the tongue 1'. From the tongue r thecircuit proceeds by wire 6 to the coils of magnet is, and from the magnet by wire 8 to an insulated plate, 1;, at the bottom of the jambplate a, and from the plate 11 the circuit proceeds by wire 10 to one point of thepush-button to and proceeds from the other point by wire 12 to the electric bell y, and from the elec tric bell by wire 13 to the battery, the circuit being thus open only at the push-button 10. It will therefore be seen that when the push-button is pressed the circuitwill be closed and the. bell y rungand the magnet k energized. Vhen the magnet is thus energized, it will of course instantly attract its armature Z, and thus release the detent-lever m, as before described, and leave the catch-block d free to yield to the opening motion of the door. If, however, the doordoes not open of itself or is not opened by the visitor, the spring-boltp will of course remain in place, and the contacts s 1' will remain closed, and hencethe bell y will'continue to ring so long as the operator the same means it will also be readily seen that the operator can tell whether the door has been subsequently closed or not; hence by this simple combination of parts the distant operator can always tell the condition of the door and know whether the visitor has entered or not and how the door stands, which are very desirable advantages.

It may now be seen that my improvement not only combines a means for automatically opening'the door, but also an indicator of the condition of the door, and involves few parts of simple construction and efficient operation.

It will be noted that the detent arm or lever m lies at right angles or tangential to the'motion of the catch-blockd, and hence the press ure of the door on the catch-block does not react on the detent-leverin a direction tending to disengage it from the armaturecatch Z, and hence there is no tendency to disengage it from the armature-catch Z, and hence there is no pressure or friction exerted at the catch Z from the pressure on the catch-block, and therefore the armature-catch is rendered much more certain, and at the same time much more sensitive, and a small or weak magnet will 'suffice to operate it, which is a very important mechanical advantage.

It may be also observed that by means-of engage the detent-lever m as soon as released by the armature Z, and as the armature-catch Z engages the detent-lever at a long leverage from the bearing-point of the bolt-spring q, but little pressure or friction exists at the point of engagement, which is of course favorable to the certain and energetic action of the magnet. At the same time by this arrangement the mag- ICC net It has nothing to do directly with releasing 4 the detent-lever from the catch-block, which is effected by the strong bolt-spring q, but the power of the magnet is concentrated solely on the small armature-catch, thus enabling the door-opener to work most efficiently with a small magnet.

It will be understood that the contacttongue 1' might be operated by any othermovable part of the door-opener,which moves when the door is opened; but I prefer to actuate it by the spring-boltp. The catch-block or boltgate (6 may be made in any other suitable form besides that of a rotary recessed cylindrical block, which, however, I consider preferable. It may also be understood that some other motive device might be substituted for the electro-magnet 7a to act on the catch Z Z without departing from the general mechanical plan of my'door-opener; but an electric-motor device is of course preferable.

What I claim is 1. In a door-opener, the combination, with the bolt-gate, of a detent-arm arranged to engagethe same, a catch arranged to engage the detentrarm, a motor device arranged to actuate or release the catch, a spring arranged to throw the detent-arm into constant engagement with the gate and cateh,astronger spring arranged to move the detent-arm in the opposite direction, and a belt or projection projecting in the path of the door and arranged to comp ress said spring when the door is closed, substantially as herein set forth.

2. In an electric door-opener, the combination with the catch-block or bolt-gate, a detent-arm engaging the same,anarmaturecateh engaging the detent-arm, a spring arranged to move the detent-arm to engage the gate and catch, a stronger spring bearing in the opposite direction on the detent-arn1 and arranged to be compressed by the closing action of the door, and an electro-magnet arranged to release the armature catch, substantially as shown and described.

3. In a door-opener, the combination, with a bolt-gate and a catch, Z, and amot-or to operate said catch, of the intermediate detentlever, m,ar'ranged to engage the gate at or near its fulcrum, and to engage the catch atits tip, and disposed in a position tangential to or at right angles with the motion of the gate and the direction of engagement of the catch, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a door-opener, the combination, with a rotary bolt-gate, (Z, with its constantly-clos ing spring 9 and engaging-point i, of adetentlever, on, having the springpawl n, to engage said point, arranged and operating subst-air tially as shown and described.

5. In a door-opener, the combination, with the bolt-gate having an engaging-point, Z, of the detent-lever m, having the'engaging-pawl a, with the electro-magnet 7c,o r its equivalent, and its armature-catchl Z, arranged and operating substantially as shown and described.

6. The combination, in a door-opener, with a bolt-gate, d, of the detent leverm, catch Z Z, magnet Lysprings o and q, and bolt p,arranged and operating substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. The combination, in an electric dooropener, with the releasing-magnet k, control ling the release of the bolt-gate, of the contactmaker 0' s, a device actuating said contact'maker by the opening motion of the door, with the puslrbutton w, battery to, and electric hell or indicator y, all in circnitwith said magnet and contactmaker, substantially as shown and described.

8. In an electric door-opener, the combination of the bolt 1) and its contact-maker r s with the releasing-magnet k, push-button 112, battery it, and electric hell or indicator y, circuited as shown and described, for the pur pose set forth.

DAVID ROUSSEAU.

Witnesses:

Jso. E. GAVIN, JonN BECKER. 

